Folks who like their Americana earnest and earthy should think about heading down to Poor David's Pub tonight to catch a crowded bill of country singer-songwriters.
Headlining this acoustic evening is Wade Bowen. Born and raised in Waco (although we shouldn't hold that against him), Bowen now resides in the much cooler confines of New Braunfels where he wrote and recorded his fine 2008 effort, If We Ever Make It Home. The album, which features key contributions from David Grissom and Chris Knight, found Bowen mining the familiar influences--Springsteen, The Eagles and Patty Griffin--but in a way that put Bowen outside of the generic circle headed by the likes of Pat Green.
As good as Bowen might be, though, the three other acts on tonight's bill are just as good.
Sean McConnell lives in Austin but he grew up as part of the Boston
area's folk scene and brings those Northeastern sensibilities to his
music. Check out McConnell's fine The Walk Around EP for shades of Tom
Rush. Adam Hood, meanwhile, hails from Alabama and is by far the closest thing to
alt-country on tonight's bill; his 2007 effort ,Different Groove, should be subtitled Truth in Advertising as the youthful
singer-songwriter channels Dylan and The Band in fine songs such as "22
Days Too Long" and "Buzzes Like Neon".
Opening up the show will be Austinite Seth James, a fine roots singer
with a firm understanding of rock and blues. James' most recent
effort, That Kind of Man, contains the track "Cigarettes, Anger and
Wine," a hell of a song that perfectly encapsulate the honky-tonk scene
before smoking ordinances took effect.
All in all, a killer collection of songwriters that span the wide definition of Americana.
